6-1. The Isolated Town
Two days after their last mission, the team was briefed for a new assignment.
"The location is a remote, isolated logging community in the mountains," Father Lucent explained, pointing to a spot on the holographic map. "Communication was suddenly severed 24 hours ago. Our remote spiritual scanners indicate a rapidly spreading Vice contamination, but the pattern is highly unusual. It's not centralized like a single portal; it's spreading like a disease."
Lucen, now fully recovered, took charge. "Our objective is reconnaissance, containment, and, if possible, purification. We do not engage any demon above High-Class unless absolutely necessary."
"Finally, something mysterious!" Orin cheered, tapping his Lance. "So, what Vice is it this time? Greed? Sloth?"
Father Lucent's face darkened slightly. "We suspect Paranoia. The most dangerous kind, as it weaponizes the minds of its victims."
The trio took a high-speed transport deep into the secluded mountains. The air grew cold, heavy, and thick with an unnatural silence.
When they reached the town's edge, they found it intact but completely empty. There were no bodies, no blood, and no signs of struggle—just open doors and dinner plates left on tables.
"Spiritual reading is off the charts," Lucen whispered, drawing The Excalibur. "The air itself is saturated with negative energy. Everyone's Vice has been amplified to the extreme."
Solen scanned the surroundings with his spiritual sight. "I can't see any distinct Vices. Everything is just… dark and swirling. It's like the air is moving and watching us."
6-2. The Weaponized Mind
They moved through the silent streets. Every sound—a gust of wind, the creak of a sign—felt deafeningly loud.
Suddenly, a massive, grotesque creature materialized directly in their path: a Fear Construct born from the collective terror of the townspeople. It had too many limbs, no coherent face, and seemed woven from shadows and despair.
"Attack!" Lucen yelled.
They charged. Lucen used his speed, attempting to slice the creature into pieces, but his blade passed through its shadowy mass, only momentarily dispersing it. Orin struck with his lance, leaving streaks of blue fire, but the construct reformed instantly.
"It's resisting holy weapons!" Orin gasped, jumping back from a claw swipe. "We're barely scratching it!"
"It's not physical!" Solen realized, dodging a second creature that materialized beside him. "The Paranoia Vice is creating these constructs directly from the villagers' minds! If we fight them, we're just giving them more energy!"
Lucen quickly assessed the situation. "We can't waste energy! Orin, use Lancea Caelestis defensively—keep the area clear! Solen, you need to find the core—the highest concentration of amplified Paranoia—and purify it! It's the only way to collapse these projections!"
Orin nodded and unleashed a swirling field of defensive holy fire, creating a buffer. Solen, using the light from Orin's flame as a reference point, closed his eyes and pushed his spiritual vision to its limit.
He looked for the loudest, most frantic whisper of fear.
6-3. The Paranoia Trap
Solen found it: a piercing focal point of spiraling dread deep inside the town's large, multi-story church. He ran toward it, Lucen providing cover.
Dash… Dash… Dash…
As Solen neared the church, the reality around him fractured. The street tiles beneath his feet began to wriggle like snakes. The surrounding houses twisted into faces screaming silent accusations.
"You left Oberon to die!" a phantom voice shrieked inside his mind. "You're not worthy of the Wonder!"
Solen shook his head violently. Illusions! Weapons of the mind!
"Solen! Get out of there!" Lucen's voice echoed, sounding panicked and far away.
Solen pushed harder, focusing solely on the pure white light of his Wonder. He burst through the massive wooden doors of the church.
The interior was a terrifying, illogical labyrinth. The pews were stacked into dizzying towers, and the ceiling stretched endlessly. In the center, suspended above a swirling pool of black goo, was a single child, wrapped in dark, shimmering ribbons of Vice energy. This child was the epicenter of the Paranoia.
Solen rushed forward, but suddenly, the ribbons solidified into chains, locking his arms and legs.
"Seraphine Luxora won't reach!" Solen grunted, struggling against the power of the Vice. The power of a whole town's fear was immense.
From the shadows, an illusory Lucen stepped out, his face contorted into a snarl. "Give up, orphan! You're the weakness! I will take your Wonder!"
Simultaneously, an illusory Orin appeared on the opposite side, raising a spectral lance. "You're a fake Saint! Die!"
Solen ignored the phantoms, focusing all his energy on the chains. The real Lucen would never say that! The real Orin would be cheering me on!
6-4. Purification
"Seraphine Luxora!"
He channeled his light, not into a punch, but into a blinding flash that burst from his very core. The light instantly dissolved the chains of Paranoia.
The false Lucen and Orin screamed as they dissolved.
Solen rushed the child, now defenseless. He placed one hand, armored in the glowing Holy Gauntlet, gently on the child's forehead.
"Be free," Solen whispered, channeling every ounce of his purified Wonder.
A silent, intense white light washed over the child and flooded the church. The dark ribbons disintegrated. The labyrinthine structure of the church snapped back to normal. The light traveled outward, spreading across the town.
Outside, the Fear Constructs vanished instantly. Lucen and Orin, who had been fighting desperately, watched the light dissipate.
"He did it," Lucen breathed, sheathing his sword.
They rushed to the church. Solen was kneeling beside the child, exhausted but unharmed. The child was now sleeping peacefully, wrapped in the last wisps of the purifying light.
Later, as the townspeople slowly awoke from their slumber, confused but mentally whole, Solen looked at the sleeping child.
"Paranoia doesn't kill the body," Solen observed, rubbing his tired eyes. "It's a different kind of war. It kills the soul."
Lucen placed a hand on his shoulder. "That's why this conflict is called the eternal war, Solen. Because the battlefield is always shifting."